Postmarking and stamp-canceling machine.



. Patented May 6, 9.02.

J. E. WRIGHT. I POSTMAREHNG AND STAMP CANCELING. MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 21, 1901.; (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet l.

-Jagne 5'. 2777/ more. a. c. THE- nunms PEYERS ca, PHnTou'rHu. wmmu No. 699,276. Patehted May 6, I902.

J. E. WRIGHT. PUS TMABKING AND STAMP GANCELING MACHINE.

(Application mean. 21. 1901. (No lh'idel.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

ms Nonms PETERS co FHOTQLITNQ, WASHINGTON B. c.

(Application filed Mar. 21, 1901.)

4 sheets-sheet a.

(No Model.)

a Roman:

No. 699,276.- Patented may 6. I902.

E. WRIGHT PUSTMARK-ING AND STAMP GANCELING MACHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 21, 1901.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

El wuawfoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. WRIGHT, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

POSTMARKING AND STAMP-CANCELING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,276, dated May 6, 1902. Application filed March 21, 1901. Serial No. 521191. (No model.)

To all whom it nuty concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES E.WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Postmarking and Stamp- Canceling Machines; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in stamp-canceling andpostinarking machines, the object of the same being toprovide a machine of this character in which the letters will be automatically separated and conveyed to canceling and dating devices, from which they are delivered to discharge mechanism which pushes them out upon the delivery tray or table.

The invention embodies not only the general construction and efficient operation of the machine as a whole, but also-certain details of construction, including means for separating and feeding the letters and for stacking the letters after they have been canceled and postmarked, and, further, for feeding the letters in a simple and eifective manner to the delivery-table.

The invention also embodies mechanism for effecting a positive feed of the letters to the separating devices, for operating said separating devices so as to cause them to bear in a certain manner upon the letters to be fed inventionis more fully'disclosed, the inven tion consists in a postal machine embodying certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, and par ticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings hereto annexed and forming part of this specification, Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of a stamp-canceL ing and postmarking machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, the base, chute, and cooperating parts being omitted. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the parts disclosed in Fig. 2, showing the receiving-table in transverse section. Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the machine. Fig. 5 is a detail view. of the reciprocating guidebar, the eccentric for actuating the same, and the needle-feed holders connected to said bar.

. Fig. 6 is a back view of the face-plate, showing the springactuated detents mounted thereon. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the delivery-chute, its supporting-bracket, the feed-screw, and the follower; and Fig. 8 is a detail View showing a modified form of separating and feed device.

ctThe mechanism of my improved postal machine is inclo'sed within aframe or casing, at

the upper end of which is a feeding-chute and at the lower end a delivery table or tray.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 represents the frame or inclosing casing of the machine, which is mounted upon a stand or base 2, which is preferably made hollow or tubular to receive the primary driving mechanism. As shown in the present instance, the said stand or base 2 is provided with a door 3, through which access may be obtained for inspecting, repairing,.and.replacing the elements-of the primary driving mechanism, and in the base is formed a cylindrical casing 4,'which may be employed as an inclosure for an electric .motor when it'is desired to use electricity as a'power for operating the machine.

power, in which case treadle mechanism will be preferably employed to rotate the fly-wheel, that shown in the present instance for this purpose consisting of a treadle-lever S, pivoted to the stand or base 2 and jointed at its lower end to a pitman or connecting-rod 9, the

upper end of which is journaled upon a crank or wrist pin 10, connected to the fly-wheel 6. At the top or upper portionof the frame or casing 1 is arranged a guide-frame consisting of a transverse block 11, bolted or otherwise secured to extensions 12 of the sides of the frame, and having bolted or otherwise connected thereto a face-plate 13 and a backplatelet. Theinclinedfeed-chute15ismounted upon the front or feeding-in side of the frame of the machine and consists of a series of longitudinally-extending parallel rods fixed at their inner ends to the frame and supported at their outer ends by U-shaped side brackets 16,connected to the frame,which brackets are connected,reinforced,and braced at their outer ends by abar or plate 17, suitably secured thereto and serving as a stay for the outer ends of the chute-rods. The letters or pieces of mail to be postmarked are sorted and faced upon the chute 15, after which they are placed between the face-plate 13 and a follower or force-feed device 18, which is slidablymounted upon the upper arm or arms 19 of one or both of the brackets 16, and is impelled toward the face-plate 13 by feed mechanism consisting of a feed-screw 20, journaled to rotate in said brackets and engaging a finger or projection 21, depending from the follower 18. The gearing for communicating motion to the feed-screw comprises a beveled gear-wheel 22, mounted upon the lower end of said screw and meshing with a similar wheel 23 upon a counter-shaft 24, mounted and operated in the manner hereinafter described.

The lower end of the face-plate l3 terminates above the inner and lower end of the feed-chute 15, so as to form between them a slot 25, through which the letters or pieces of mail-matter separately pass to the canceling and postmarking rollers. This slot is closed or guarded by a series of spring-actuated detents 26, pivoted to the lower end of the faceplate 13 and pressed into position to lie normally flush with the outer or front faces of said plate by resistance-springs 27,also mount ed on the face-plate and adapted to hold the lower ends or points of the detents in position to close the slot 25 until opened by the pressure of the mail-matter thereon and to guide the matter to the printing-rollers for cancellation of the stamp and postmarking of such matter. The letters orpieces of mail-matter are separated and fed through the slot 25 to the printing-rollers through the instrumentality of a series of separating and feed devices consisting of blocks 28, carrying needles or pins 29 and mounted in holders 30. These holders 30, of which two are shown in the presentinstance, are mounted upon arms 31, projecting from a link 32. The link 32 is pivoted at its lower end to the strap 33 of an eccentric 33, mounted on an auxiliary drive-shaft 34, journaled in the sides of the frame or casing 1, andat its upper end is similarly connected to a guide rod or bar 35,

mounted to slide vertically in an opening formed in the transverse bar or block 11 and confined in place by the back-plate 14. The

operation of the eccentric causes the carrier of the separating and feed devices, consisting of the link 32 and guide-bar 33, to reciprocate up and down within the frame or casing l and to thereby impart vertical movement to said separating and feeding devices. The latter are thereby caused to move'upwardly into engaging position and then to move downwardly, so as to cause thedownwardly inclined or directed needles 29 to engage the letter or piece of mail-matter bearing against the face-plate 13 and to force the same down through the slot 25 against the pressure of the detents 26. The detents when pressed upon by the letter or piece of mail-matter impelled downward by the separating and feed devices yield to allow the letter to pass and guide the same between the presser and inking rollers, hereinafter described, and then automatically assume their normal positions to close the slot 25 and prevent the next piece or pieces of mail-matter from falling into and choking said slot. The guide-bar 35 reciprocates in a direct vertical plane, while the link 32 is so mounted as to yield to conform to the motion of the eccentric-strap and also to move the separating and feeding devices into and out of operative position in such manner as to prevent injury to or undue pressure upon the letters or pieces of mail-matter. operation of the eccentric the link upon moving upwardly withdraws the pins or needles 29 away from the slot 25 and then as itcontinues up and around under the action of the eccentric forces the holders 3O downwardly and inwardly toward said slot, thereby causing the needles to engage and force downward the adjacent letter without penetrating or otherwise injuring the same. i In other words, the link in responding to the changes in position of the eccentric-strap draws the In the separating and feeding devices away from i the envelop fed downward through the slot 25 and then releases the same, and the me dles are maintained out of engagement with the letters until the highest point in the motion of the eccentric is reached, when they are again projected outward and caused to engage and force another letter down through the slot in a manner readily understood. By this means mutilation or injury of the letters or pieces of mail-matter is avoided in a simple and effective manner, while a positive feeding of the same is insured.

On the auxiliary drive-shaft 34 are mounted a number of presser disks or rollers 36, which cooperate with a corresponding number of presser disks or rollers 37 on the coun-, tor-shaft 24: and act to engage and grip the letters fed through the slot 25 and to hold them in position while they are being postmarked and the stamps canceled by the canceling and dating rollers and also to feed the letters to the discharge mechanism for stacking and forcing the letters out upon the deliverytray. On the said auxiliary driveshaft 34, are also mounted the printing-roll- 7 ers 38 and 39, the former adapted to cancel the stamps and'the latterto imprint the date and correlative matter upon the envelops. The dating-roller 39 is preferably provided with a recess or socket to receive interchangeable rubber type, so that the type "may be changed at will to imprint the proper dates upon the letters. These rollers 38 and 39mtate in contact with an inking-roller 4Q, hav-j ing an absorbent surface of felt or other like material and mounted upon a shaft 41, j ournaled in open bearings 42, formed in the sides of the frame or casing 1, so that said shaft and roller may be conveniently removed for reinking the roller. As the rollers 38, 39, and 40 rotate the printing-faces of the said rollers 38 and-39 are at all times kept supplied with ink, so as to produce therproper impression upon the letters or mail-matter, When an electric motor is employed for operating the machine, power is imparted from i if desired,l may dispense with the use of an electric motor and employ in lieu thereof the foot-power mechanism heretoforedescribed, or in place'of the latter a crank-handle for driving the shaft 34 directly by hand-power.

The counter-shaft 24, which carries the presser disks or rollers 37, is journaled to rofate in sliding bearing-blocks 46, mounted in groovesor ways 47, formed in the sides of the machine-frame'l, and pressure-sprin gs 48 are provided to act on said shaft to force it inwardly and to hold the presser disks or rollers 37 into yielding engagementwith the corresponding presserdisks or rollers 36 on the auxiliary drive-shaft34. The shaft 24 isdriven from the shaft 34 through ,the in-. termediation of the intermeshing gear-wheels 49 and 50, which cause said shafts to rotate in reverse directions to adapt the presserrollers to impart a proper downward feed to the letters passing between'them,

The letters or pieces of mail-matter after having been canceled and; postmarked by the printing-rollers drop downwardly to be stacked and fedout to the delivery tray or table by the discharge mechanism. The delivery-table 51 consists of a series of spaced rods projecting rearwardlyfrom the base of the frame 1 and fixed at their forward ends in said frame. I supported by U-shaped side brackets 52, similar in construction to the brackets 16 and also fixed-to the frame 1. The rods are braced at their outer ends and the brackets reinforced by a stay bar or plate 53, which performs a similar function to the plate 17 on the feedchute 15. The upper arm 54 of one of the brackets 52 serves as a guide on which is slid ably mounted a follower or movable support 55, between which and a shoulder or stop 56. on the machine-frame 1 the letters or pieces of mail-matter feeding through the rollers are At their rear ends the "rods are adapted to drop. The follower or movable support 55 is set at an outward angle of inclination to hold the stack of canceled and postmarked letters from tilting forwardly. The letters as they drop from the rollers are forcedagainst the said follower or movable support 55 and the latter fed outward by a thrust bar or plate57, which as each letter or piece of mail-matter drops down in ad- Vance of the follower presses the same against the follower and slides the latter, together with the stack of mail-matter, outward upon the table 51. The bar or plate 57 is operated so as to be moved, toward and from the follower 55 bya pivoted bell cra'nk lever 58, one arm of which is attached thereto and the other arm provided with a friction -roller which traverses acam-groove 60, formed in the side of one of the disks or rollers 36. As the shaft 34 revolves and the letters arefed through the rollers the friction-roller 59 traverses the circular orconcentric portion of the cam-grooves, but as each letter drops downward from the rollers into the-space between the follower and thrust-bar the friction-roller enters the outwardly-deflected portion or highest portion of the cam-groove and oper: ates thebell-crank lever to force the thrustbar 5'7 toward the follower 55, whereby the letter is pressed toward said follower and the latter, together with the stack of mail-matter, pushed outward on the delivery table 51. When the friction-roller reaches the end of the deflected portion of the cam-groove, the bell crank lever is retracted or I forced to move in the opposite direction, thereby causing the thrust-bar'57 to move away from or in a .reverse direction to the follower, so as to leave a space into which the lettersas they arecanoeled and postmarked may,drop. The follower upon being forced outwardly holds the letters or pieces of mail-matter on edge or stacked so that they may be readily re-, moved from the delivery-tray.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and mode of operation of my invention will be readily apparent, and it will beseen thatit provides a comparatively simple and efiicient form of apparatus which may be operated either by hand, foot, or mechanical power and embodies efficientmechanism which is not liable to injure ordeface the mail-matter or to become choked or. get easily out of order. I may, if desired, employ automatic type-changing means for the dat-.

ing-roller-such,. for instance,-as that shown B in Patent No. 630,964, granted jointly to me:

and W. R'Griifith August 15, 1899. In some cases I may also dispense vwith the needles 29 of the separating device and employ 'inlieu thereof a friction-body 29, secured to the block 28, as shown in Fig. 8. q

While the preferred embodimentof the, in-v may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a postal machine, the combination with printing mechanism and feed mechanism having a feed-slot and force-feed device, ofa separating device for individually feeding the letters through said slot, a drive-shaft, an eccentric upon said shaft, areciprocatingguidebar, and a link connecting the eccentric and guide-bar and carrying said separating device, substantially as described.

2. In a postal machine, the combination witha frame, of a feed-chute and a face-plate cooperating therewith and forming a slot for the feed of letters to the machine, printing mechanism for canceling and postmarking the letters passing through said slot, a follower for forcing the letters against said face-plate, spring-actuated detents normally closing the slot, separating devices for individually feeding the letters through said slot to the printing mechanism against the tension of said spring-actuated detents, a drive-shaft, an eccentric upon said shaft, a reciprocating guide, and a link connecting the eccentric and guide and carrying said separating devices, substantially as described.

8. In a postal machine, the combination with a frame, of a feed-chute and a face-plate cooperating therewith and forming a slot for the feed ofletters to the machine, detents pivoted to said plate and normally lying flush with the outer surface of the plate and closing or guarding said slot, springs acting on the detents, separating devices for individually feeding the letters through said slot against the tension of the spring-actuated detents, and means for moving the separating devices in an irregular path to cause the same to move downwardly toward the face-plate to contact with the letters and feed them through said slot and then to move upwardly and away from said face-plate to release the letters, substantially as described.

' 4. In a postal machine, the combination with aframe, of asupporting-tray for the mailmatter, the same comprisingaseries of spaced parallel rods fixed at their inner ends to the frame, spaced substantially U -shaped side brackets also fixed at their inner ends to said frame, and a stay plate connecting said brackets at their outer ends and serving as a support for the outer ends of the rods, substantially as described.

5. In a postal machine, the combination with a frame, of a feed-chute and a face-plate cooperating therewith and forming a slot for the feed of letters to the machine, printing mechanism for canceling and postmarking the letters passing through said slot, a follower for forcing the letters against said face-plate,

spring-actuated detents normally closing the slot, separating devices for individually feeding the letters through said slot to the printing mechanism against the tension of said spring-actuated detents, a drive-shaft, an eccentric upon said shaft, a reciprocating guide, a link connecting the eccentric and guide and carrying said separating devices, a'deliverytray, a follower movable along said tray and cooperating with a stop or shoulder upon the frame to support the letters discharged from the printing mechanism, a thrust device for forcing said follower out along the deliverytray and clamping the mail-matter, a cam upon the drive-shaft, and a bell-crank lever between the cam and thrust device for operating the latter, substantially as described.

6. In a postal machine, the combination of a frame, a transverse block secured to the sides of the upperportion of the frame, a feedtray, 9. face-plate located upon the front side of said transverse block and cooperating with the tray to form a feed-slot, spring-actuated detents carried by said plate and guarding said slot, a back-plate arranged in rear of said transverse block and forming therewith a guideway, a drive-shaft, an eccentric there- I on, a reciprocating bar moving in said guideway, a link connecting said bar to the eccentric, and force-feed devices carried by said link to feed the letters through said slot, substantially as described.

7. In a postal machine, the combination of a frame, a base therefor, a primary driveshaft jonrnaled in the base, means for communicating motion to said shaft, feed and delivery chutes at the top and bottom of the frame, a face-plate cooperating with the feed chute to form therewith a feed-slot, a screw shaft mounted upon the feed-chute, afollower also mounted upon said chute and operated by said shaft, an auxiliary drive-shaft journaled in the frame, connections between the same and the primary drive-shaft, a reciprocating guide-bar, an eccentric on the auxiliary shaft, a link connecting the guide-bar and eccentric, force-feed devices carried by the link for feeding the mail-matter through said slot, a counter-shaft journaled in the frame and driven from the auxiliary driveshaft, printing, stamping and feeding rollers upon said auxiliary drive and counter shafts, a cam upon the auxiliary drive-shaft, gearing upon the counter-shaft for operating the screw-shaft, a follower upon the deliverychute, a thrust device for moving the follower, and a bell-crank lever between the cam and thrust device, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES E. WRIGHT. Witnesses:

J. P. HAY,

K. B. TIDERMAN. 

